


New Year, New Banquet

by Kris_Creations



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Mild Angst, Original Characters - Freeform, Potential Swearing in future, Spoilers, kyoru fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:53:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19321327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kris_Creations/pseuds/Kris_Creations
Summary: A Kyoru fanfic based after they graduated high school and Kyo and Tohru are deciding what comes next for their future together.





	1. Chapter 1

It has been 2 months since the gang graduated High School. Kyo and Tohru have just moved into their new home and the quiet rustle of cherry blossom trees gives Tohru a feeling of peace as they start their new life together!

“Hey Tohru! Watch where you’re-“ Kyo tried to say.

“AHHHHH” Tohru screams as she trips over a small box, the other boxes she’s carrying crash to the floor, “Sorry, Sorry!!!”

“I tried to warn you!” Kyo chuckled, “We have a lot of small boxes around, so you need to watch your step!”

“Right, sorry.” She says embarrassingly.

“You ok?” Kyo asks, still smirking.

“Oh! I’m fine, thank you for asking!” She replies.

Their new home is in a small, quiet town 3 hours away from the Sohma Main house. The roads are surrounded by cherry blossom trees and the dojo that Kyo’s gonna be working for is a short walk away. Though Tohru’s sad to be so far from everyone; She’s here with Kyo, and that makes her happy!

“You know, I’m so glad Shishou let us move into this small apartment he had!” She says as she puts away the dishes that surprisingly didn’t break after she tripped over their box.

“I didn’t even know he had a place out here,” Kyo says while putting the boxes Tohru dropped into the corner, “He said he stays here when he comes to visit his grandfather’s grave.”

‘Shishou’s grandfather, the Cat before Kyo.’ Tohru thinks to herself, “I guess the grave isn’t too far from here! I wonder how often Shishou visits?”

“I dunno,” Kyo says, "But you know what? How about we take a break and explore the area?"

“Really?!” Tohru says excitedly, “We still have some boxes to put away, though.” Kyo’s stomach then growled.

“Well, I’m getting a bit hungry too,” He says with a playful smile, “So I figured we could also stop and get some groceries on our way back,” He reaches his hand out to Tohru, “What do you say?”

A gleeful smile comes over her face. “Sure!” She says as she grabs Kyo’s hand.

Hand in hand, they walk the road of the new town. Seeing the world for the first time in a new life. Anticipating what is coming for them.

 

____________________

 

Kyo never thought this was an option for him. To be able to explore the world outside the Sohma house, be freed from the curse, or have a future in general; and he’s able to have all this with Tohru at his side. Every day, he still wakes up in a sweat thinking it’s all a dream, only to have Tohru there, holding his hand and reassuring him that all this is real.

“What is it, Kyo?” Tohru says.

“Huh?” Kyo snaps out of his train of thought, "What's up?"

“You just squeezed my hand, is something wrong?” She asks.

“Oh, nothing, I’m just hungry.” He says as he slightly loosens his grip on her hand.

“Well then, how about we stop wondering and go to the store so we can get us some food?” Tohru says as she grabs his arm with her other hand. Kyo smiles gently, knowing she’s using small gestures to calm him.

“Sounds good to me.” Kyo wants to stay like this forever. Despite his fears, having Tohru by his side makes him realize that the next step for their future could be possible. Kyo’s thought process is interrupted by a male voice blasting behind them.

“EXCUSE ME?” The stranger says.

Tohru and Kyo look to see a young man running up.

“I’m sorry,” The stranger says, “But are you Kyo Sohma by any chance?”

“Uh, yes?” Kyo says in a confused manner, “And who are you?”

“Right, I’m Katsuo Masahiko, “Suo” for short.” The stranger says, “I’m a student at the Aikido Dojo, I heard you were gonna be a Student Instructor there!”

Shishou got Kyo a position at that dojo after asking his friend for a favor. Kyo stood surprised that a student from the dojo already knew who he was and what position he’d be working under, especially considering he hasn't even seen the dojo yet.

“Well, I am, but how did you know who I was?” Kyo asks.

“Oh! Kazuma-Sensei gave us a call to let us know!” Suo replies, “He said ‘keep an eye out for a hot head with a head of orange.’” Gee, thanks Shishou; Kyo hasn’t even started working there and Shishou already embarrassed him with fatherly teasing.

“I’m surprised,” Suo continued, “your hair really is a vibrant orange! Do you dye it? I wish I had the guts to do something that drastic! Though orange maybe a bit too extreme. Oh! But it looks good on you, Sohma-Sensei!”

“Uhh, thanks?” Kyo doesn’t know whether to be mad, honest, or embarrassed.

“It really is a pretty color, isn’t it?!” Tohru chimed in, “Kyo pulls it off so well!” Thanks, Tohru; Kyo is now certain that he’s embarrassed. Flattered, but embarrassed.

“Right, I’m sorry,” Suo directs to Tohru, “I don’t think I caught your name!”

“Oh! I’m Tohru Honda!” Tohru politely bows.

“Oh! So you must be Sohma-Sensei’s fiancé!!” Suo said gleefully while Tohru and Kyo turn red with embarrassment, “Kazuma-sensei said Sohma-sensei’s fiancé was moving down here too!” That’s it, Kyo is going to have a sparring match with Shishou next time they see each other!

“We...” Kyo stutters, “we aren’t engaged yet.” He turns red as the words leave his mouth. In the corner of his eye, Kyo can see Tohru’s red face look at him with slight surprise. The look makes his heart skip a beat.

“Anyway,” Kyo changes the subject, “while I am going to be an instructor at your dojo, I’d rather not go by honorifics, so just call me ‘Kyo’.”

“Ok, Kyo-Sensei!” Suo responds. ‘Good enough, I guess.’ Kyo thinks to himself.

 

________________________

 

Unsure whether or not to do it, Akito sits in her office and contemplates. Would everyone even want to come? She wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t want to. After all she did to them, why would they show up?

“Akito?” Shigure peers in, “what are you working on?”

“Um, nothing. Just debating still,” Akito says nervously, “I’m still not sure if I should invite everyone for New Years. I want to bring everyone together since we’re family, but I’ve forced them into so much that I don’t know if anyone would even want to come.”

“Well whether they want to come or not,” Shigure says, “it’s only April, think it over for a while longer and give everyone some time to settle into their new homes. Besides, I personally wouldn’t care if no one showed up!” Akito expected that response, but she was surprised to actually hear it.

“But Shigure, I feel like we should keep some traditions alive. We’ve lived with them for so long that it just feels wrong to abandon them all.”

“Hm, while I see your point, why worry about it now?”

“I want to at least give everyone enough time to decide whether or not to come. And we need enough time to plan out what we should do for the event. While I do want everyone to be together on New Year’s, I was thinking we could maybe change things up and come up with new traditions.” Akito wants to make it up to them and she wants to be a real family, because despite all that’s happened, they are still Sohma’s.

“Fine, do what you’d like;” Shigure says, “but I still think you’ve got enough time to think it over and plan it out more before actually inviting everyone.”

After he left, she contemplated some more before deciding that giving everyone some time would be for the better. While she is anxious about whether anyone would come, it is for them to decide and they may need more time to adjust to the changes...as does she.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*Shishou-Kazuma Sohma)
> 
>  
> 
> As some of my older readers might've noticed, I changed the perspective from 1st to 3rd. I am still new to writing and didn't realize how much easier and more appealing a story like this is in 3rd person, so made some edits. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyo meets the master and the other students of the new dojo.

After they departed with Suo, Tohru and Kyo bought some groceries and went back home to make lunch. While everything seemed normal, there was a slight uneasiness in the air. Though Kyo knew it wasn’t something to worry about, it brought back a question in his head.

Are they ready for the next step? They promised to be together and he knows they both hold that promise close. But is it too soon to move into that phase? Even thinking the word “marriage” has his cheeks going red, but the word just feels so right. Kyo continues to bury himself into these thoughts as he digs through the boxes at the corner of the room.

“Kyo,” his unpacking slows and he looks over to the doorway Tohru is standing in, “lunch is ready, come and grab some!”

Seeing her smile only makes his feelings truer. Kyo knows he should probably wait for them to settle into their new place before he drops something like this; but he is certain, ‘I want to officially propose to Tohru’.

Kyo’s walks into the kitchen to sit down at the chabudai; he glances around at their new apartment and he thinks to himself ‘It’s small in size and a lot of boxes are still strewn about, but it has a homey feel to it.’

“Here you go!” Tohru says as she sets down his food. For lunch, she made them red bean soup and rice balls with salmon filling. Seeing the rice balls reminds Kyo of something Tohru had said. It feels like is was a long time ago that the memory causes a nostalgic smile spreads over his face.

“Hey,” Kyo takes Tohru’s hand, “you remember our first school festival?”

“Of course! We had a rice ball stand and that was when I officially met Momiji and Hatori!”

“Well, the day before the festival, when you were testing rice balls, you said that what makes us special is on our backs, like a plum on a rice ball. I must admit, I had never viewed myself as someone with value; I didn’t think anyone would be envious of me... until you said I had a plum on my back. It still took me a while to feel self worth for myself, but you have no idea how happy I was when you told me that. So, even though it’s really late, thank you for telling me that.” Tohru turns bright red with a mixed expression of embarrassed and happy.

“Well, I want to thank you too, Kyo!” Tohru replies, face still red, “I don’t consider myself as a person a lot of people would envy either, but when you said I had a plum on my back too, it made me really happy! So, thank you!” Kyo pulls Tohru in and they hold each other for a while.

He loves her. She’s given him so much and she continues to give him what he needs. Kyo wants them to be like this forever, and if marriage is the way to continue this life together, he is ready for it.

 

____________________

 

Tohru’s face is still red. Kyo’s embrace, the words he said, the smile on his face. Her heart is still racing; then again, it didn’t lighten up much after what Katsuo said. ‘Fiancé’, it’s still weird to think of it; and Kyo’s face was also red, but turned even brighter when he said “we aren’t engaged yet”...’yet’, that is the word that stuck with her. She thinks it makes sense to be thinking about marriage now, but oh how she wished she could talk to her mom about this; she loves Kyo and wants to stay with him, but if she asked him about marriage, would he be up for it?

“Hey Tohru?” Tohru jumps in surprise at Kyo calling to her.

“Oh! Yes?”

“I’m heading out to meet with Suo and the others at the dojo.” As they parted with Katsuo, he invited Kyo to go to the dojo after today’s lessons so he can meet everyone and have dinner with them.

“Ok, come home safe!” Knowing Kyo, he’s gonna get along really good with the people at the dojo. Kyo just has that power, he draws people to him and while he’s a bit awkward, he befriends others pretty fast.

After Kyo left, Tohru continued to unpack some boxes. She opens the box with some of her more cherished items and she stumbles upon the paper flower Kyo gave her. She gently hugs it and thinks about all the precious moments Kyo and her have had. Those moments mean so much to her and she is excited to make more memories with him. She looks over her valuables and tries to think of a proper place to display them when an idea came to her.

“I know! I can decorate something in our apartment that would ease us into the potential of marriage! But what can I do?” Tohru looks around the apartment and contemplates what she can set up. The bigger boxes by the bedroom made her realize what could be done. “Our beds! I can put our futon’s together!!”

She lays out the futons next to each other in the bedroom. Next to them, she then starts placing a few of her and Kyo’s smaller momento’s on a bookshelf. Tohru puts her moms picture on the top of the bookshelf; along with the picture, she places her cap, Kyo’s smaller weights, and her zodiac figures. At the bottom of her box, she finds the cat’s beads and looks at them with ambivalence. She knows they are a source of pain to Kyo, but the bracelet was with him and those previously cursed with the cat for so long that it just seems wrong to throw them away, so she places them in a bowl on one of the lower shelves. She steps back and looks at the room and feels accomplished; it may take time to truly make this place home, but this is the beginning of her and Kyo’s future and she is excited.

 

____________________

 

“Kyo-Sensei! You made it!” Suo exclaimed. “The others are just inside with our master, come on in!” Kyo walks onto the training floor to find Suo, 4 other young men, and an older man setting up a table in the middle of the dojo.

“What is this?!” He staggers, baffled that they are acting so improper inside a dojo. The middle aged man walks over to him and reaches his hand out.

“Welcome to my dojo,” he greets, “I am Master Kaito, the head instructor of this institute.” Kyo hesitantly shakes his hand. “I know this isn’t how a dojo should be set up, but I felt we should celebrate you joining us and this was what came to my mind! After all, you are Kazuma-san’s star pupil.” His what? Kyo wonders if Shishou told these guys more embarrassing stuff than what Suo already said earlier.

“Yeah, and despite Kazuma-Sensei not coming here a lot, he helps out so much when he does visit.” One of the students chime. “I’m Touma Ito, I am elated to meet you, Sohma-sensei! Kazuma-Sensei helped me when I was struggling greatly with my soto uke, so I want to do what I can to have you feel welcome since you’re Kazuma-Sensei’s son!” Son? Does Shishou actually introduces Kyo to others as his son? An embarrassed smile falls on his face as he is dragged to the table and the rest of the students begin introducing themselves.

“...I’m Hiroki Abe.” The youngest looking student timidly blurts. “It’s…a pleasure to meet you...”

“Wasup, Sohma!” A beefy person says as he towers over Kyo with a feisty look on his face, “I’m Saburo Chiba! Just so you know, I’m one of the top in the class!”

“No you’re not!” A man who looks exactly like Saburo interrupts. “Everyone knows I am! Hi, I’m Yoshio Chiba, I can’t wait to spar with you, Sohma-Sensei! And I can’t wait to see you beat the shit out of my brother!”

“Oh yeah, punk?!” Saburo tackles Yoshio and they start sparring.

The remainder of the evening is a blur of chatting with those of the dojo and an occasional spat between the twins. At first it was a bit awkward interacting with them, but they were so energetic and kind that Kyo found himself having a great time. As the sun began to set, Master Kaito dismisses the students and starts walking Kyo out.

“I’m glad,” Master Kaito says, “it seems you’ll fit right in. The boys can be a bit much for me at times, but if Kazuma-san’s star pupil is there to aid me, I know I can handle it.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Kyo begins to question, “why do you call me that? While I’m no slouch at martial arts, I don’t view myself as a ‘star pupil’.”

“Oh? But Kazuma-san speaks so highly of you whenever he visits. He always goes on and on about how strong you are and how proud you make him; I swear, the smile on his face whenever he talks about you, I don’t think anything in this world can get rid of it.” Kyo just stares in disbelief, he knew Shishou talks about him since everyone has said so, but for him to give Kyo that much praise, he can’t help but be baffled. “You know, Kazuma-san actually used to be my pupil.”

“Really? He hasn’t told me that.”

“Yup, he trained under me for many years. He is a very skilled martial artist; I actually considered passing my dojo off to him, but he said he wanted to have his own set up closer to home; but as in Kazuma-san’s nature, he drops by as often as he can to catch up and help out around here.” Thinking back, Kyo remembered that Shishou did travel every now and then, leaving Kunimitsu to watch over him or Kyo just supported himself for a bit. “Anyways, if Kazuma-san says you’re his star pupil, I believe him.” Kyo thanks him and start walking home till he heard fumbling coming from the dojo.

“Kyo-Sensei, wait!” Suo comes blunderling out of the dojo and hands Kyo a bento box. “This is some leftover food, for Honda-san! Tell her she’s welcome to drop by anytime!”

“Thanks, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” He responds.

“No problem! I hope to become good friends with both of you!” He bows and then starts rushing back to the dojo. “Anyways, see you later!!”

Kyo continues to head back home and as he walks on, he thinks about the future; a future of walking hand in hand with the one he loves. A future of them here in this town in this dojo, with new people to meet and befriend. He looks to the cherry blossom trees with eyes of peace and love, seeing upon them a life of happiness. For the first time since he was born, he is looking to the future with confidence.

“Tohru? I’m back.” Kyo says as he walks through the door. He finds most boxes emptied and Tohru asleep on the floor. “Hey, that’s not a comfy place to nap. Come on, wake up.” He shakes her shoulder to wake her and she rolls over with a sigh.

“Kyo...” she mumbles. “Future....together....” Hearing the mumbles made his cheeks heat up. She sighs back to sleep with a peaceful expression on her face.

“Silly.” He takes a breath as he picks her up and carries her to the room. In there, he finds she has set the room up with the futons right next to each other and some of their valuables on a shelf together. Kyo let’s out an embarrassed sigh and places Tohru on her futon. The peaceful look on her is so darling that he finds myself gently caressing her cheek.

“I love you, you silly goose.” He moves her hair out of her face, gives her a peck on the cheek, and heads back to the living room.

To show his initiative in decorating the apartment, Kyo finish’s unpacking the rest of the boxes and disposes of the cardboard; he looked at what Tohru set up in the apartment and that feeling of peace rippled through him again. He’s glad Tohru is willing to take this chance of a new life with him and he will forever be grateful to be here with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*______- perspective change)  
> (*chabudai- a short legged table used in traditional Japanese homes.)  
> (*soto uke- outside forearm block)
> 
>  
> 
> As some of my older readers might've noticed, I changed the perspective from 1st to 3rd. I am still new to writing and didn't realize how much easier and more appealing a story like this is in 3rd person, so made some edits. Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More cute fluff and Tohru visits Akito.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This chapter is only in Tohru's perspective because there was just so much...)
> 
>  
> 
> As some of my older readers might've noticed, I changed the perspective from 1st to 3rd. I am still new to writing and didn't realize how much easier and more appealing a story like this is in 3rd person, so made some edits. Enjoy!

“Kyo, breakfast is ready!” Tohru calls out onto the back balcony where Kyo is doing his morning warm-ups.

“Thanks,” Kyo walks in, wiping his sweat off into a towel, “I’m just happy that the dojo opens later than normal today.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Tohru asks, surprised at the news.

“Master Kaito said he has a doctors appointment this morning, so he decided to open the dojo a few hours later,” He says as she hands him his plate. “Whether it opens late or not, though, it’s still gonna be rowdy with those twins. They’ve been bugging me about sparring with them, and it's been amped up since I told them we’re going to be gone for a few days. So it’s good to have quiet moments like this, just you and me.”

Tohru giggles to herself as she remembers how often Kyo and Yuki used to bicker. Even the first time she met Kyo, he came bursting through the ceiling to pick a fight with Yuki. She would’ve never thought that that explosive moment would lead to how they are now.

“What?” Kyo chuckled.

“Nothing, I just remembered how often you use to pick fights with Yuki-kun!”

“Ugh...right, I guess I was kind of an ass back then...” Kyo embarrassingly sighed, “...but in my defense, Yuki was just as much of an ass; and if you ask me, he’s become even more of an ass!”

Tohru laughs as they both sit down and continue to talk while eating breakfast. It’s weird to look back and see how much they’ve changed since their first meeting. Kyo’s temper used to be really bad, but hidden underneath the anger, he’d have a sweet and awkward smile. Now, his smiles are so natural and true that seeing them sometimes takes Tohru’s breath away.

It’s been a month since Kyo and Tohru moved into the new town. They’ve been adjusting surprisingly well and Kyo is getting along really good with those at the dojo. But tomorrow, the two are gonna be visiting the Sohma estate and Kyoko’s grave, after all, her anniversary is in 2 days. After breakfast, Kyo stands up and starts heading to the bathroom.

“I’m gonna hop into the shower before work.” He says as he grabs his sweat towel.

A mischievous smile creeps over Tohru’s face as she grabs a dishcloth. She twists it around and gives Kyo a smack with it. Kyo turns around with a light ‘ow’ and looks at her with a playful smile.

“Yeah, you better shower,” She teases as she spins the cloth around, “I can smell your sweat from here!” Kyo jumps over the chabudai at her and holds her in a sweaty hug.

“Nooooo!” Tohru squeals amongst her laughter.

“This is what you get, you troublemaker!” He starts tickling her and they play around for another minute before Kyo let’s go and actually hops into the shower. Tohru goes back to doing the dishes and starts setting up Kyo’s lunch.

Every day still feels so surreal to her, the past few months have felt like a never ending dream, but the fear in the back of her head has mostly subsided. Tohru wonders if Kyo has been noticing her subtle staring, cause he’s been giving her some awkward quick glances as well. ‘I hope I haven’t weirded him out too much.’ She thinks.

As Kyo finishes getting ready and grabs most of his dojo gear, Tohru walks him to the door and gives him a hug goodbye.

“Have a good day, Kyo. I’ll get us packed up and ready for tomorrow!” She gives him a peck on the cheek, “See you when you get back!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” They hold each other a little longer before Kyo pulls her closer for a momentary kiss. As he pulls away, he looks at her tenderly. 

“I love you.” Every time she hears those words, they echo in her head as her heartbeat scampers like a rabbit.

“I love you, too.” Tohru flash’s a smile back to him. Their hands detangle as he finally walks off to the dojo. Once he’s turned the corner out of sight, Tohru goes back inside and grabs a suitcase to start packing what they’ll need for the trip.

Before they left their old home, Kyo and Tohru got cell phones so they could stay in contact with the others. Tohru had called Uo and Hana to see if they wanted to go with them to visit her mom, but they said they would be too busy to make it this year. Tohru then also called her grandfather to let him know that she’ll be in town and he said he wanted to go to the grave with them, so it looks like it’s just gonna be Kyo, her grandfather, and herself. Tohru did consider asking some of the other Sohma’s to join them, but from what they’ve heard, it’s been pretty crazy at the Sohma main house since the curse broke, so she didn’t want to burden anyone.

As the day goes on, Tohru finishes packing for the trip and goes into the kitchen; it was then she realized that Kyo left his bento on the counter. ‘I was planning to walk to the store to grab snacks for the trip anyway’ she thought to herself, so she decided to grab Kyo’s lunch and just take it over to him after she grabs the groceries. She closes the door behind her and as she walks along the side of the road, she can see in a nearby park some couples and their kids playing on a play set. She watch’s from afar as she begins to think ‘that looks like a fun place Kyo and I could take our kids to in the future.’

The thought was quick, but it caught her off guard. Is it normal to think ahead to such a degree? Seeing the couples walk along, hand in hand, she wonders if Kyo and her come off like that to others when they are together in public. Whenever they’d go out, they hold hands and talk as they walk by others; do they give off that same energy these other couple are giving her? Tohru’s mind continues these thoughts as she steps into the convenience store.

“Hello, Honda-san!” The store clerk greets, “What are you in for today?”

“Just grabbing some travel food, Kyo and I are gonna be going out of town for a few days.”

“Aw, that’s sweet! I do hope you two will be back in time for the festival, though!”

“Festival?”

“Yes! The cherry blossoms are in full bloom now, and every year we hold a ‘Cherry Blossom Festival’ right before the blooms wither! There will be vendors, food, fireworks, dancing; oh it’s just so much fun, you simply HAVE to go, dear!”

Tohru actually hasn’t been to a festival in a long time, last time she went to one was right before middle school. Going to a festival with Kyo actually seemed like a lot of fun!

“Ok, why not?!” She responds, “When is the festival?”

“At 8pm next week on Saturday night!”

“Great,” She says enthusiastically, “Kyo and I will definitely be back by then! Oh, this is so exciting!!” She grabs the snacks and starts to make her way to the dojo, skipping in glee.

Tohru couldn’t wait to tell Kyo about the festival! It’ll be so fun to look at the booths, play some games, and watch the fireworks together. As she approaches the steps of the dojo, a familiar face pops out of the doorway.

“Katsuo-san!” Tohru calls out.

“Oh, good day, Honda-san!!” He welcomes with a gleeful smile, “What can I do for you?”

“Well, Kyo forgot his bento, and so I thought I’d drop it off and come say hi!”

“Of course! You are always welcome, come on in!!” They walk into the building and after taking off her shoes, he guides Tohru down the hall to the training studio.

There, Kyo is practicing with a younger looking student. Tohru couldn’t help but smile when she sees how well he fits in a mentor role. Calmly explaining things and showing how to do a move, being patient and giving encouraging words, she feels like she could watch him teach for hours on end.

“Kyo-Sensei!” Katsuo-san yells, drawing Tohru’s focus back to reality. Kyo and the student look over and Kyo gives her a warm smile, beads of sweat still laying on the corners of his mouth.

“Ok, Hiroki,” Kyo directs to the student, “20 minute break, make sure to inform the others.” The student bows and sheepishly walks away to a different area of the dojo with Katsuo. Kyo grabs Tohru’s hand and they walk outside to a bench near dojo and they sit down.

“So, what’s up?” Kyo asks.

“Oh, well you forgot your bento this morning!” She hands the bento bag to him, “also, I wanted to ask you something!” She scoots closer to him in anticipation.

“Well, I can tell you’re excited for something,” Kyo gleams, “what is it?”

“Well, next Saturday, this town has a cherry blossom festival!”

“Oh yeah, Master Kaito said he was gonna close the dojo for the festival that day.”

“Oh, I was hoping to surprise you,” She says dejectedly, but she hypes her energy up again. She grabs Kyo’s arm in her excitement, “but anyways, I wanted to ask you if we could go together!”

“Really?” Kyo says, surprise subtly in his voice, “I actually wanted to ask you the same thing.”

“You did?! I’m so happy!” Just as Tohru celebrates, she had a moment of realization and sunk back into her seat.

“What’s wrong?” Kyo asks as he moves some hair from her face.

“Well, it's just, I kind of wanted to wear a yukata, but I don’t have one.” She says in a disheartened tone.

“So?” Kyo grabs her hand and she looks at his gentle smile, “That doesn’t matter, we can have fun at the festival, with or without a yukata.” Tohru’s cheeks start to feel warm as she watches Kyo’s face turn as bright as his hair.

“CRAP!” Kyo embarrassingly blurts, “I didn’t mean for it to come off that way, I’m not saying we should...I mean, I would like to, but this isn’t the time for....UGH!!!” His face turns so bright that Tohru couldn’t help but think he looked so cute when embarrassed. She kisses his cheek.

“It’s ok, Kyo, I know what you meant.” She grazes his hand with her thumb, “I look forward to the festival!” She leaned her head on his shoulder and they sit for another few minutes before Kyo ate his bento and had to go back to the dojo. Tohru gave him a hug goodbye and gleefully bounds to the apartment, excited for what’s to come in the near future.

.......

After a 3 hour bus drive, they finally make it back to their old town. The familiar sights leaves Tohru feeling nostalgic even though they were just here not too long ago. Everything just makes her feel at peace; the smells, the sounds, the breeze, everything.

“It feels good to be back, huh.” Kyo’s voice breaks Tohru’s nostalgic thoughts. “I honestly didn’t think I’d miss this place that much, but I will admit that I am happy to see familiar surroundings.” She gives him a smile and they hold hands as they start walking towards the Sohma main house. As they approach the main crossroads to get to the Sohma estate, Kyo let’s go of her hand.

“I’m gonna head over to Shishou’s and drop off our luggage, I’ll see you later.” He says as he heads off to the other direction.

“Ok, I’ll see you in a bit, Kyo!” She waves goodbye and walks the other way towards the main compound.

Tohru understands why Kyo is hesitant to go to the main house. No matter how good things have gotten now, it's still hard remembering the painful stuff he’s gone through with the Sohma’s. If he’s still not ready to see Akito-san in a more casual setting, She understands and will be there for him with the comfort that he needs.

Tohru reaches the main gate and finds that the doors are wide open. She is taken aback by the sight and awkwardly stands at the entrance longer than she should. She continues gawking till a familiar voice brings a happy feeling into her heart.

“Big Sis?” Tohru looks over to find Kisa-san in her school uniform walking up the path to the gate. Tohru smiles widely and runs to her.

“Kisa-san!!!” Tohru gives her a big hug and they hold each other, “I am so happy to see you! I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you too!” Tears start to well in both of their eyes and they embrace for a little bit longer.

“A-hem,” the sound of a clearing throat catches Tohru off guard and she finds a grumpy boy looking at them, “are you two going to continue being awkward in front of the gate like that, or can we now get home?”

“Oh, Hiro-san!” Tohru responds while wiping away a stray tear, “it’s good to see you!”

“Yeah, sure. What are you back in town for? You haven’t been gone for that long.”

“Well, tomorrow is my mom’s 3rd anniversary, so Kyo and I are going to visit her grave.” The two middle schoolers tense up and look at each other. Kisa-san reaches over and grabs Hiro-san’s hand as she looks at Tohru sympathetically.

“Would it be ok if we joined you?” Kisa-san asks, “I want to meet your mom.” The tears in Tohru’s eyes start to trickle down again.

“Yes!” She pulls both the preteens in for a hug, “I would love you to come along!” Hiro-san awkwardly pushes away from the hug.

“It would have to wait till we get out of school and have a chance to change into something more appropriate.” He says.

“Of course,” She responds, “we’ll meet you there and get the grave set up!”

Tohru gives Kisa-san another hug and they all go their separate ways while Tohru goes to give Akito-san her greetings. As Tohru walks around the compound, she expected the atmosphere to be more tense than what she felt when she first came to the compound, only to find herself surprised at how peaceful it was. Without the tense atmosphere, she is able to see just how beautiful the compound actually is. Everywhere she looked, she felt like she’s looking at a painting from the feudal era. As she got to the entrance of Akito-san’s manor and rang the bell, she is greeted by a young maid who seems to light up as she saw Tohru.

“Hello! You must be Tohru Honda,” she exclaimed, “Akito-sama is in hi-...uh, her office. Please come with me!” The maid walks Tohru down the corridor of Akito-san’s manor till they reach a sliding door towards the back of the building.

“Akito-sama?” The maid asks as she knocks on the door, “Tohru Honda is here to see you.”

“Thank you,” Akito-san’s voice quietly comes through, “you may enter.” The maid slides the door open and they find Akito-san sitting at a table with papers strewn about.

“Go on in, Honda-san,” the maid gestures her, “I’ll come by in a bit with some tea.”

“Ok, thank you.” Tohru bows in response and sits herself at the table. “It’s good to see you again, Akito-san!”

“Likewise,” Akito-san replies, “I apologize if I’m not too social right now, I just need to get this paperwork finished by today.”

“Ok, I understand!” Tohru watches as Akito-san’s full focus falls deep into the papers on the desk. Her stare so strong it could burn a hole into them. As Tohru watched her continue to work, her hair starts to free itself from the loose ponytail and a thought comes to Tohru’s mind.

“Akito-san,” Akito-san drips her stare and gives Tohru a glance, “until your done with those papers, want me to style your hair for you?” Akito-san turns red and looks at Tohru in surprise.

“W-why?” She asks flustered.

“Well, I thought it would be a good way to pass the time. Besides, your hair is starting to get so long and pretty, please let me play with it for a sec?”

A defeated look comes over the young head and she nods her in agreement. Tohru pulls out a small comb from her bag and undoes the loose ponytail, letting the hair fall.

“You’re hair really is getting long, Akito-san,” She commented as she brushed the dark hair, “It looks really pretty on you.”

“I actually was thinking of cutting it short again.” Akito-san muttered, “The length is starting to get inconvenient.”

“Really?” Tohru responds, “it’ll be such a waste.”

“While I do like it to an extent, I am not familiar with taking care of such long hair. With how busy I can get these days, I don’t think I’ll even have time to learn how to properly maintain it.” Akito-san continues.

“Well then, let me see if styling it might change your mind.” Akito-san returns to work while Tohru continued brushing and styling her hair. While Akito-san seemed uncomfortable about Tohru touching her head at first, she grew to be more calm as she continued. Tohru ties off her hair into a simple low bridal bun and places the last pin just as the maid brings them some tea. As they set up their tea, Tohru brings up the cherry blossom festival with Akito-san.

“The store clerk made it sound so fun,” She says enthusiastically, “I just can’t wait!”

“I see.” Akito-san replies, “Then it appears the two of you are enjoying your new town, I’m glad.” Akito-san sets down the last of her paperwork and she starts drinking her cup of tea.

“I...” Akito-san stutters, “I am really grateful you stopped by, Tohru. I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”

“Of course, Akito-san,” Tohru encourages, “what’s on your mind?”

“Well, I was thinking...” Akito-san pauses for a second, “If I said I wanted to continue the New Year Banquet’s, but change things up a little bit....would you be willing to come?” A look of hesitation shows how scared Akito-san seems about asking this. Almost as if she thinks that now that the curse is broken, the family would dissolve and the Banquet’s should become obsolete. Hearing her question, though, Tohru lit up in joy.

“Of course! I would love to spend New Years with everyone!!” She grabs Akito-san’s hand in her excitement, “I am so happy you’re inviting me, I am so excited!!” Akito-san stares in surprise for a minute before an awkward smile falls upon her face.

“Thank you.”

“Well, hello there, ladies!” A booming voice comes through as the door to Akito-san’s office opens, “I’m glad to see the two of you getting along well.”

“Shigure-san!” Tohru greets as the ex-writer walks into the room, “It’s good to see you!”

“It is great to see you too, Tohru-kun! It’s been far too long!”

“Shigure, she’s only been gone for a month.” Akito-san snips.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss her!” Akito-san blushes in embarrassment as she looks away from Shigure-san. “By the way, Tohru-kun, thank you for agreeing to come to the Banquet. Akito here has been getting so flustered about whether or not to do it, she’s been driving me crazy!”

“I-I wasn’t getting that flustered! And how dare you spy on us!” Akito-san rolls a piece of paper into a tube and wacks Shigure-san with it.

Shigure-san then sees Akito-san’s hairstyle and stares at it for a second; realizing what he’s looking at, Akito-san becomes even more embarrassed.

“Something seems a bit different,” Shigure-san says with a quizzical look on his face, “I can’t quite put my finger on it...Tohu-kun, did you do something different with you hair?!” Akito-san turns brighter red and continuously wacks Shigure-san with the rolled paper as she is kicking him out of her office.

“I am so sorry about him, Tohru.” Akito-san apologizes, “I honestly don’t know how you managed to live with someone like him.”

“Oh, no,” Tohru responds, “I am indebted to Shigure-san for letting me stay with him when I didn’t really have anywhere else to go. And I guess in a way, I’m also indebted to you. It’s because I was allowed to live there that I was able to make so many new friends and have so much fun in high school. Not to mention, I got to meet and fall in love with Kyo because I was living with the Sohma’s. So, thank you, Akito-san, I am so grateful to have met you and all the other Sohma’s!” Tohru bows her head as Akito-san looks on in surprise.

“Well, I should get going now, Kyo is probably waiting for me!” Akito-san starts walking her out of the main compound, their discussion being what activities to do and what people to potentially invite to the banquet. As they reach the main gate, Tohru gives her farewells to Akito-san.

“Well, goodbye, Akito-san, it was really good to see you!” She starts to head off until Akito-san called out for her one last time.

“Tohru?!” Tohru looked to her as her cheeks have a subtle rose tint to them, “I too am grateful to have met you.” A warm smile spreads over those rosy cheeks as she says those words. Tohru returns her smile and gives her another wave before she continues her walk to Shishou’s.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back after a long hiatus!!!

As he parted from Tohru at the fork in the road, Kyo had an itch to hold her again; to pull her close and never let go. While her going to the Sohma main house alone gave Kyo small knots in his stomach, he knew that it wasn’t the reason for his urge. He lets out a sigh and continues on towards Shishou’s house, the feelings continuing to gnaw at him.

As he walked the familiar path, he remembers how often he would walk this road, feeling excited to go to the dojo. Excited to learn new moves and feeling himself getting stronger, sparing with Shishou and bonding with him. Kyo remembered the times they’d laugh at Shishou’s cooking, talk to each other about their daily events, him showing Kyo something new. 

Along the path, he sees a grown man and a kid hand in hand having bright smiles on their faces as they discuss random things. Kyo walks by them and his mind trails to something else. ‘I hope I could be as good of a father as Shishou was to me.’ His face flushes as he realizes the implications of what that meant. ‘Stop it, you pervert. You’re not even married yet.’

That thought brings back a question that he’s been contemplating since Tohru and him moved in together. ‘When and how should I propose to Tohru?’ Kyo starts to debate with himself what time would be appropriate. ‘The festival next week seems like a good place and there would be a good opportunity during the fireworks. Maybe I can confide in Shishou about it.’

Kyo reaches the house and a sense of ease overcomes him. Shishou’s place was always a source of comfort to him. Even though he was initially awkward coming here, it never ceased to be the place he wished to be at when he had a bad day. He gives a knock as he walks through the door.

“Hello?” He calls out as he enters the premises, “Shishou, I’m here!”

“Ah, hello there.” A chill comes over Kyo as a creepy feminine voice came from the kitchen. Just as he was about to back out, a girl clouded in all black peaked over towards him. “It is good to see you again, Kyo-san. It’s been far too long.”

“Not long enough if you ask me, Hanajima.” He whispers under his breath.

“If you’re looking for Kazuma-san, he is still at the dojo, but he should be back soon.” ‘Not soon enough.’ He thinks to himself.

The door creaks behind Kyo just as Shishou walks in behind him. Saving Kyo from needing to converse more with creepy wave girl.

“Ah, Kyo.” A warm smile falls over Shishou’s face, “I was hoping to be here when you arrived, but I guess you beat me to it.”

“Well then, I’ll make a pot of tea while Kyo-san puts his bags in his room and the two of you catch up.” Hanajima offered.

“Yes, thank you, Saki-san.” Shishou responds, “shall we, Kyo?” As they walk down the hall, Kyo notices how quiet the house seemed and it struck him as odd since the last time he was here it was pretty crowded.

“Hey, Shishou,” Kyo questioned, “what happened to Isuzu? Is she still living here?”

“No, she decided to move back in with Kagura’s family since she found a new job. The Sohma main house is closer to it, so she thought it’d be easier on her body to walk a shorter distance to and from.”

“She got a job?”

“Yeah, it’s a part time job at a shopping center. Isuzu is gonna be a sales associate in a jewelry store.”

‘Jewelry, rings, wedding ring, marriage, Tohru.’ Kyo’s mind continues this loop as he drops off their bags into the room and Shishou and him make their way to the dining room.

“Here’s your tea,” Hanajima says as she set down the platter, “I’ll be taking my leave now; and I’ve already prepared dinner for all of you, it just needs to be reheated.” ‘There is no way I’m gonna eat that, I don’t need a curse placed on me.’ Kyo thinks.

“Thank you, Saki, have a good day.”

“Have a good day, Kazuma-san. Tell Tohru-kun I’ll be seeing her tomorrow, Kyo-san.”

“I thought you couldn’t make it to the grave?” He asks.

“I can’t, but her and I are going to have dinner together later in the evening when I am available.” She responds.

“Really? Tohru hasn’t told me anything about it.”

“She doesn’t know yet, but I am about to give her a call and ask her to join me.” The way she puts it makes it sound like something Momiji would do. Hanajima gracefully takes her leave and Shishou and Kyo begin to catch up.

“So, how’s the dojo?” Shishou asks, “I hope Kaito-sensei and his students are treating you alright and are welcoming to Tohru.”

“Yeah, Master Kaito is treating me good;” Kyo replies, “though I sometimes feel like he’s holding back on some of the tasks he’s giving me. I dunno if he is just going easy on me or if he’s doubting my skills; especially towards teaching the others.”

“He probably just wants you to get comfortable there before giving you more responsibilities. Kaito-sensei did the same thing with me when I was his assistant and Katsuo said he went through a similar trial when Kaito-sensei took him in.” Kyo suddenly remembered a question that he’d been curious about.

“Shishou, you learned martial arts from Master Kaito, right? Why haven’t you told me about it?”

“I didn’t see the need to. Not to mention you never asked.” Good point.

“Oh, how long has Suo been at the dojo? It seems he lives with Master Kaito and they appear to be close; is he related to him in some way?”

“Katsuo? No, Kaito-sensei took him in when he was I believe 6 or 7.” Shishou began, “From what I believe, Katsuo was a runaway. His parents died and he didn’t like his foster family, so he ran away from his home and lived on the streets for a few months. Kaito-sensei said that when he found him, the boy looked like he ate from the trash or stole food in order to survive. The boy was filthy, skinny, crude, and refused to receive any help and ran away from anyone who tried.” As Shishou went on, Kyo tried to process in his head how it’s possible for this to be the same young man who seems so happy-go-lucky all the time at the dojo; he greets everyone with a smile and is always trying to help out. While Kyo tried to piece things together, Shishou continues.

“Kaito-sensei stumbled across the boy while he was on a trip to Nagasaki. Katsuo was nearly half-dead in an ally, his body so frail. Yet, Kaito-sensei said he saw a fire burning so strongly in that boy’s eyes. Kaito-sensei decided then and there to take the boy in. Katsuo initially refused, but Kaito-sensei was stubborn and eventually managed to drag Katsuo back home with him. He gave the boy his space, but also made sure he was well fed and well taken care of. After a while, Katsuo started to ease up to Kaito-sensei and a proper relationship began to form. Katsuo found his anger outlet through martial arts after Kaito-sensei started teaching him a few moves. It’s taken a long time, but that boy that was once filled with anger and loneliness grew to become so caring and supportive all thanks to Kaito-sensei’s generosity.”

“I had no idea. He doesn’t seem like he’s had a past like that.” Kyo stutters in pure shock. Though he only just met him, Suo from day one was open and respectful (to the point where it was almost awkward).

“Well, you haven’t had that easy of a life either, Kyo.” Kyo looks up at Shishou as he meets his face with his gentle smile, “but here you are now; a kind young man who has faced his past and is looking to the future in confidence. To top it off, you found that confidence through someone who truly loves you and is walking that path alongside you; and I couldn’t be more proud.” Kyo gives a light chuckle at the statement.

“I’m only like this because of you and Tohru, I don’t even want to think where I’d be if it wasn’t for you guys.” A vision of being in a dark, lonely room flashes in Kyo’s head for a second. He grabs his wrist in unease as his thoughts continue to trail back to those times. Kyo’s heart skips a beat when he didn’t feel the bracelet, but he eases his breath as he reminds himself that there is no need for it anymore. Shishou must’ve noticed his unease, cause he decided to change the topic.

“By the way, how are you and Tohru adjusting to the town in general? I hope the apartment isn’t too small for you two.” He asks.

“Huh?” Kyo snaps out of his thoughts, “oh yeah, the place is great and the other townspeople are very welcoming. Tohru also befriended the clerk at the convenience store near where we live, she says she wants to apply for a job there when we get back. The clerk even told Tohru about a festival that’s gonna happen next weekend and Tohru was really excited about it when she was talking to me. I haven’t been to a festival and Tohru said it’s been a while since she’s been to one, so we are going to it.” The topic of the festival brought warmth to Kyo’s face as he recalls what it was he wished to talk to Shishou about the most.

“Shishou, I’ve been thinking...”

Kyo pauses to gather his words, unsure of how to even say them himself. So many things have happened over the years. Tohru helped him out of the grave of guilt he had buried himself into. Kyo was spared from that horrible fate of being locked in that room. He fell in love with the most wonderful person, and he gets to have a chance to fulfill an almost broken promise. Everything that has happened between him and Tohru, the pain and tears, were overshadowed by the love that grew from their pain from the circumstances of their lives. Kyo loves Tohru. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He wants to wake up with her, seeing her hair a huge mess. He wants to hold her hand when they go shopping for food at the grocery store. He wants to continue to hug her first thing in the morning. He wants to eventually start a family with her. He wants to grow old with her. She was the one who made him realize that he needed that, she was the one to give him the courage to live his life. With all these feelings going through him, he builds up the words he needs and gives Shishou a look of determination.

“I was thinking of proposing to Tohru at the festival.”

Kyo exhales as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. This was on his mind for most of the month, so being able to say it aloud for the first time makes him feel....relieved! He is actually surprised at how much more relaxed he is now. Now that he’s said it, it seems so much more feasible that he doesn’t understand why he’s been so worried.

Though, Shishou’s silence is now what Kyo’s worried about. He looks up at him and Shishou seems so stunned, as though Kyo’s words just broke his brain.

“I thought you already did ask her to marry you?” His question takes Kyo aback with surprise.

“No, I haven’t yet,” Kyo says embarrassingly, “but that reminds me, why did you tell Master Kaito that Tohru and I were engaged?!”

“I guess I just assumed you already asked her to marry you since you guys decided to move in together.”

“No! I only asked her to move in with me! Do you know how awkward it was for Tohru and I when Suo misunderstood?!”

“I apologize, I guess I’m more old school than I thought.” Shishou says as he calmly sips his tea while Kyo sits there a little flustered. “How about this, tomorrow when the girls are out having dinner, you and I can go and pick a band for you to give to Tohru?” Gleeful surprise comes over Kyo at Shishou’s encouraging support.

“Really? I’d really appreciate that, thanks, Shishou!”

“I also want to give you some advice before you officially propose, though.” Kyo furrows his brow in confusion, “You have got to be sure you are both prepared for this. Anyone can see you two are in love, but marriage is a different construct than dating; marriage isn't a fix all to any problems you might have. Don't rush into it because you're in love, put those feelings aside and ask yourself if this is the right thing. Are you willing to be more open and vulnerable with each other? Because believe it or not, you guys will fight about stuff. Love can be about looking at Tohru and finding her cute little quirks becoming painfully annoying sometimes.” He must’ve seen Kyo looking more dejected because he grabbed his shoulder and gave Kyo a warm smile before finishing up.

“But despite everything, you know that the love you share is something you know that you cannot live without. If you feel you are ready for both the ups and downs of marriage, then propose at the festival if you’d like. I only ask you to think it through a bit more before jumping into things.”

Before Kyo can say even a word of thanks, Tohru walks through the door and greets them in the dining room. Kyo looks at Shishou and he gave him a nod, understanding that Kyo wants him to be quiet about the discussion. The conversation didn’t go exactly how Kyo thought it would, but he appreciates what Shishou told him.

The rest of the day consisted of Momiji and some of the others dropping by to say hi and catching up with Tohru and Kyo. Even though Hanajima prepared plenty of food (that, while not that much better than Shishou’s, wasn’t the worst thing Kyo decided to eat), all the guests dropping by and joining them for dinner caused Shishou to order extra food from a delivery service; but he didn’t mind, for he liked that so many people were making noise just because they came to see Tohru and Kyo. Despite how serious their discussion got earlier, he gave off an even more joyful aura than his usual happiness.

 

...

 

“Hi grandpa!” Tohru hugged her grandpa after he answered the door.

“Hello, Tohru dear, it is so good to see you again.” He responded. Tohru gave a surprised look as she noticed he didn’t call her ‘Kyoko’, but she brushed it off as they are welcomed inside for a minute.

“I’m glad you guys were able to pick me up today, my daughter simple insisted I not walk to the grave by myself.” He states.

“Oh no, are you alright, grandpa?”

“I’m fine, it’s just that after my back slightly gave out on me last year, she doesn’t want me to go by myself.”

‘If she was really worried, she could go with you to see her sister-in-law’s grave.’ Kyo thinks, but he keeps that to himself. He knows Kyoko’s relationship with the Honda’s was rough since only Grandpa Honda accepted the marriage. It just annoys Kyo when he remembers they were one of the reasons Tohru struggled to find a place to live after her mom died.

“Oh, grandpa guess what?!” Tohru chimes as Kyo grabs a bucket of cleaning supplies, “there’s going to be a festival in our town! Kyo and I were thinking of going to it!”

“That sounds fun, dear.” Grandpa replied, “do you have a yukata?”

“No, but I wish I did.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Your grandmother had some and I still have them somewhere around here. Why don’t you have one of them?”

“Really?! Are you sure, Grandpa?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Grandpa stood up and gestured Tohru to follow.

“In that case, I’ll go on ahead and start getting things set up at the grave.” Kyo says.

“You don’t want to see the yukata, Kyo?” Tohru asks.

“Why?” He responds, “You’ll wear it at the festival, so I don’t need to see it until then.” Kyo gives her a teasing wink and leaves the house with the cleaning supplies in hand.

Despite how the other Honda’s act, Kyo is glad Tohru at least has her grandfather looking out for her. He knows some people are close with their direct relatives, but Kyo can’t relate to it; and neither can Tohru. While her life with her mom was more peaceful, she still received rejection from her relatives and was labeled as trouble all because of her moms past.

Sometimes Kyo wonders what it was like to have even that. He doesn’t have any direct blood relative that he can depend on; Kyo doesn’t even know if he has any living direct aunts, uncles, cousins, or grandparents. The house before his mom died was either awkward silence or loud tension, so there wasn’t a chance to learn anything about that kind of stuff.

As Kyo walks up the stairs towards the grave, he sees an elder women struggling to climb the stairs. ‘I wonder who she’s visiting.’ Kyo thinks to himself as he continues to climb. The closer he gets, the more he can see her struggling. She’s holding the railing with one arm while trying to balance her cane and a bouquet of flowers in the other, sometimes almost dropping them. After a moment's hesitation, Kyo walks towards her.

“Please, ma’am, let me help you with those.” He says as he reaches to grab the flowers.

“No, please, I wouldn’t want to impose.” She replies.

“It’s alright, I’d rather help you than you risking getting hurt.”

“Well, thank you. You are very kind.”

Kyo grabs her flowers and cane as she uses his arm for extra support as she walks up. Her holding his arm causes him to tense for a second, but Kyo loosens up more as his mind continues to say ‘it’s ok, you won’t turn into a cat, this is fine.’

“I don’t mean to intrude, but who are you here to visit, dear?” The lady asks. Kyo gathers his thoughts to answer as normally as possible.

“I’m visiting someone who I owe a lot to. She’s also my girlfriends mother, so she’ll be joining me here soon.”

“You are very sweet, I’m sure your girlfriend appreciates it. I’m....visiting my daughter.” She pauses as a pained look comes over her. “We, weren’t all that close, but she was still my daughter. I want to at least see where she now rests.” As they continue to walk, Kyo’s brain starts to think ‘could this woman be...?’

Sure enough, they both stop at Kyoko Honda’s grave. They look at each other awkwardly as they realize the situation they’ve now put themselves in. This woman is Kyoko’s mother, as in Tohru’s grandmother; and here is Kyo, her granddaughter's boyfriend. After a moment more of awkward silence, the woman decides to break it.

“I see, so you were friends with Kyoko.” She says, “and also Tohru-chan’s boyfriend, am I right?”

“I guess that’s a way to put it.” Kyo awkwardly replied, “and I don’t mean to pry, but I thought Kyoko became estranged from you guys.”

“She did…” She started messing with the bottom of her hair, similar to how Tohru does when she’s uncomfortable, “though I refused, my husband was insistent.” 

They stood in awkward silence, unsure what to say or what to do. Kyo wondered what will happen once Tohru comes. Will Tohru be pleased? Confused? Angry? And how will her grandmother react to seeing her? Will she reject her again and walk out of her life? Just as Kyo’s thoughts continue this spiral, the woman spoke up.

“How has Tohru-chan been?” The question surprises Kyo, for he didn’t expect her to ask about Tohru’s well being, “I can imagine Kyoko’s death was hard on her.” Kyo’s anger started to boil, it takes all his must hold himself from hitting her.....but he didn’t stop his mouth.

“‘Hard’?!” Kyo snapped, “She was devastated! Her mother meant so much to her and Kyoko was the only person who looked after Tohru! After Kyoko died, NO ONE from the Honda side wanted to take in Tohru except for her grandfather! Where were you guys?!! I get Kyoko used to be a handful, but from what I understand, you guys weren’t much of a ‘family’ before she even joined a gang! She was your only daughter, how could you turn your back on her and your granddaughter?!” 

Tears start to sprout in the corners of Kyo’s eyes as he went off. While he was angry at the Honda’s and at this woman for abandoning Tohru and Kyoko, some of his guilt started to resurface and he felt like he was also yelling at himself. Kyo had thought he was finally able to get over it since Tohru doesn’t blame him, but that dark pit in his stomach has resurfaced once again for the first time in a while. He pants in frustration as the woman looks at him in disappointment, but it didn’t seem like she was disappointed with Kyo.

“I know,” she whispers, “I couldn’t do anything for them. My husband stayed stubborn for so many years no matter how much I tried to plead to him. But not long after Kyoko died, my husband became ill. In this state, he started crying daily, it was the first time I’d seen him cry, but he cried and cried. One day, amongst his tears, he started calling Kyoko’s name; he started apologizing as if she was there and he kept saying how much he regretted the way he treated her and Tohru and how he wished for forgiveness. Last month, his sickness finally got the better of him and he passed away. Before he did, though, he requested I take a trip for him. A trip to our daughters grave and to give our apologies.”

The woman’s eyes start trickling tears. Kyo just stood there, unsure how to respond to this woman’s claims to having had a change of heart. The woman then looks him in the eye, eyes both sad and pleading.

“Please, don’t tell Tohru-chan of my visit.” The woman’s words catch Kyo by surprise, “while I do wish forgiveness for both my husband and I, I am not confident in asking for it. I know Kyoko probably still hated us in death, I don’t need to know whether or not Tohru-chan hates me too.”

Despite Kyo’s anger and frustration towards this woman, he sympathizes with her. For he went through the same feelings as he told Tohru about what happened with her mom. He pushed her away and said terrible things, trying to get her to hate him; but to Kyo’s surprise, she didn’t. Tohru accepted him and forgave him despite everything.

“Tohru isn’t like that,” Kyo quietly states, “I’ve done plenty that would warrant her to hate me, but she doesn’t. While I personally think you shouldn’t be forgiven, knowing Tohru, you probably already are.” A shy smile spreads over Kyo as he talks about Tohru’s forgiving nature. The woman stares at him in a stunned nature as Kyo finishes. “And I don’t think Kyoko ‘hated’ you guys in the end. She too probably wished to reconcile with you.”

The woman, with new tears trickling down her cheeks, quietly bows to Kyo, places the flowers on the grave, and walks off without a word. Kyo just watched as the woman walks out of sight through the other exit.

Not long afterwards, Tohru and Grandpa Honda come walking up to the grave, a bag Kyo assumes has Tohru’s new yukata hangs from her arm.

“Hi Kyo!” Tohru gleams, she looks down and sees the bouquet of flowers, “huh, someone was already here? But who could’ve…” Tohru looks to Kyo for answers.

“I don’t know,” Kyo lies, “they were here when I got here.” 

Lying to Tohru didn’t feel right, but Kyo felt it would’ve been awkward to mention her maternal Grandmother, so he kept to himself about it. While he held anger towards Kyoko’s parents, he wasn’t sure how Tohru felt about them. If he brought them up, would Tohru act like she did when she first mentioned her dad when they first visited Kyoko’s grave and pretend she doesn’t know much on it? Would she become uncomfortable and decide not to open up her feelings on it?

Kyo knew that despite Tohru getting a bit better at expressing herself, she still holds back on some things, and Kyo can’t help but feel he is at fault for it. After 2 years of him telling her to fully express her wants, the one time she finally did, he hurt her and caused a strong misunderstanding. They may have cleared things up, but that doesn’t mean that that one moment didn’t effect Tohru’s confidence in expressing herself.

“Oh no,” Tohru said, “we seem to be low on water for the flower pots, I’ll go see if I can get some more.” Tohru runs off towards the temple, leaving Kyo and Grandpa Honda alone together.

“I know who it was.” Grandpa began, “She called me yesterday about it, Tohru’s maternal grandmother.” Kyo clenched his teeth, he was surprised grandpa contacts Kyoko’s parents. While talking to Tohru about it was hanging off the table, maybe at least talking to Grandpa about it would be ok.

“I…” Kyo pauses, “I bumped into her and talked to her for a minute before you guys came up.”

“You did?!” Grandpa asked, “what did she say to you?”

“She just said how she regrets how her and her husband treated Kyoko and that she didn’t want to meet Tohru out of fear that Tohru would hate her.”

“I see. Do you plan to tell Tohru?”

“I was thinking about it, but not yet.”

“Good. I don’t know how she will react to it, so it’s best to wait a little bit; but you should tell her soon.”

“I know.”

Tohru came back with the water and the boys stayed quiet about her grandmother. Kisa and Hiro soon showed up and sure enough, Tohru set up a picnic and they all sat around Kyoko’s grave as Tohru and Grandpa Honda told stories about Kyoko. While the middle schoolers were distracted with the stories, Kyo didn’t say anything. He wanted to join the conversation, but he knew it’d be awkward to need to explain everything to Grandpa Honda about his relationship with Kyoko. A concerned, but kind glance from Tohru showed she was thinking the same thing.

Towards the end of the day, they packed up the picnic and parted ways with the middle schoolers. After they dropped off Tohru’s grandfather, Kyo and Tohru walked back to Shishou’s with an air of awkwardness hovering. They tried to cover it with small talk, but the feeling continued as they entered Shishou’s house.

“Shishou?” Kyo called out; no response was heard, “I guess not even wave girl has come by yet. You guys are still going to dinner, right?”

“Yeah, but before I go, I want to at least make you and Shishou-San some dinner!” Tohru exclaims as she heads to the kitchen.

“It’s fine, I can handle it, you don’t need to do all the cooking yourself, you know.”

“Alright, but at least let me get a pot of tea going.”

“Sounds like a plan, then. You do the tea, I’ll work on dinner and a snack for us before you head out.”

“Perfect!”

They work around each other in the kitchen, the awkward atmosphere from before barely even noticeable. There’s something about being in a kitchen and cooking with someone that creates a calming effect no matter how long a day might’ve been. Though Kyo still debated on telling Tohru about her grandmother, he is thankful for this moment of peace after a day like today. They sit at the table together, drinking tea and eating rice balls Kyo whipped together using some leftover rice. As they are sitting there, Kyo could tell something was on Tohru’s mind.

“Hey, what’s up?” Kyo asks.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” Tohru replied.

“Tohru, I know something is on your mind. Tell me.” Tohru paused, hesitant to look at him. With a bite of her lip, she built up her courage and looked into Kyo’s amber eyes.

“What...what did you and my mom talk about?...When you knew her, that is.” Once again, silence fell between them. Kyo sat in shock while Tohru starred in anticipation. With an awkward sigh, Kyo looked to his tea cup.

“Well, for the most part, we talked about her life.” He responds, “How she was in a gang, how she met your dad, and we talked about you. She really adored you, you know? Even back then.” Kyo took a sip of this tea, and he felt now was a good time to bring it up. “We also talked about your grandparents...your maternal grandparents.”

“Really?” Tohru questioned, “what did she say about them? I’ve never met them before and mom never brought them up.” Kyo was surprised at her curiosity and eagerness to know about them.

“Well, I assume you already know how they...disowned your mom, right?”

“Yes?”

“Well, from what your mom said, it was more your grandfather who disowned her. Your grandmother tried to disagree, but in the end, didn’t do anything about the decision.” Kyo hesitates for a second, “If you were to meet them, what do you think you’d do or say?”

“If I met them?” Tohru thought to herself for a second, her eyes darting from side to side as she contemplates Kyo’s question.

“Well, I don’t know,” Tohru finally says, “I don’t know them, so I don’t know if they’d even want to talk to me.” A touch of sadness came through Tohru’s voice. Seeing how much she actually wanted to meet them, Kyo decided to tell her about his encounter at the grave.

“I didn't tell you this earlier, but the person who left those flowers on your mom's grave was your grandmother...and I ran into her and spoke with her for a moment.” The couple sat in silence, Kyo avoiding Tohru’s stares.

“Does…” Tohru starts, “does she hate me? Does she still hate my mom? Is that why she didn’t stay?” Tohru’s voice was shaking as she talked. “What did she tell you?” Her sad, but begging tone burned into Kyo’s turned stomach as he watched her mess with the ends of her hair.

“No, she left because she was worried that you hated her.” Kyo swallowed the lump in his throat and grabbed Tohru’s hand. “She said she came to the grave to ask Kyoko for forgiveness and to atone for what your grandfather did to your mom in the past. She doesn’t hate you, Tohru. Nor’ does she hate your mom.” Tohru’s eyes filled with tears and she embraced Kyo, light sobs leaving her mouth.

“I-I wish I got to meet her! I wish I could say I forgive her!” Tohru gasped, “I oh so wish to get to know her and my grandfather.” Kyo held her and let her cry out her wishes, wanting so much to have stopped her grandmother long enough to fulfill Tohru’s desires to meet her.

Just as Tohru finished crying, Hanajma showed up and the two went off to dinner; but not before Hanajima glared at Kyo. She no doubt sensed Tohru’s upset waves and blames Kyo for them. Kyo is wrapping up cleaning the kitchen when Shishou walks in.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Shishou asks.

“‘Go’?” Kyo questions.

“To the jewelry store. You still plan to propose to Tohru, don’t you?” Oh, that. Kyo had so much on his mind that for a second, he forgot about proposing.

“Oh, yeah. I’m almost done here, so we can go in a sec.” Shishou studied Kyo’s face for a minute. A glimpse of concern fell on him and Kyo knew Shishou sensed his unease.

“It’s ok to be second guessing.” Shishou says, “in fact, it’s pretty normal to hesitate.”

“Hesitate? I’m not hesitating. Today’s just been...a long day.” Kyo replies. It wasn’t a lie, it has been a long day with all that happened. However, despite everything, one thing still stood in Kyo’s mind. “But it doesn’t matter how long it’s been. I love Tohru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As some of my older readers might've noticed, I changed the perspective from 1st to 3rd. I am still new to writing and didn't realize how much easier and more appealing a story like this is in 3rd person, so made some edits. Enjoy!


	5. Original Character Sheet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a character sheet of the people at the dojo for you guys. Will be releasing next chapter soon!

Master Kaito-   
age: 65  
Weight: 79 kg  
Height: 5’10”  
Appearance: slouched and wrinkled with a well fit body.  
Hair: long slicked back grey hair and a poofy mid length beard.  
Eyes: hazel  
Year: ox  
Belt color: Black (10th Dan)  
Started learning Karate at age 6 and has been in a dojo since. While he appears as a intimidating older man, he still holds an air of patience and wisdom.

Katsuo “Suo” Masahiko-  
Age: 17  
Weight: 53.7 kg  
Height: 5’8”  
Appearance: scrawny at first glance, but is surprisingly very strong and capable in combat.  
Hair: mid length curly caramel hair parted to the right.  
Eyes: green  
Year: Rooster  
Belt: Brown (2nd Kyu)  
Suo is a third generation Iceland boy who had a rough childhood. Losing his parents at the age of 6, he ran away from his foster family and wound up eating garbage from back alley ways to survive. One day, Master Kaito found this young man and took him into his dojo and under his wing. He grew to become a kind young man who finds lost souls to befriend and aide in bringing life back into their eyes.

Touma Ito-  
Age: 15  
Weight: 48.8 kg  
Height: 5’7”  
Appearance: glasses, slim and pale and better suited to be seen in a Library than a dojo.  
Hair: brown black  
Eyes: brown  
Year: Sheep  
Belt: Green (4th Kyu)  
Spent most of his life with his nose in a book till Suo befriended him and convinced him to start learning karate. Though doesn’t have the best hand-eye coordination for it, he became passionate in the study of it and yearns to be better at it. Is generally quiet, but being in the dojo gets him excited and he can come off hyper.

Hiroki Abe-  
Age: 13  
Weight: 39.6 kg  
Height: 4’10”  
Appearance: small and scrawny, but is ok at karate.  
Hair: Black and parted to the right, mid length and bangs covers one eye.  
Eyes: Dark Brown  
Year: Snake  
Belt: Yellow with Black (5th Kyu)  
A quiet young man who was bullied throughout elementary school. His parents put him into karate lessons to help grow his confidence and be able to defend himself.

Saburo and Yoshio Chiba-  
Age: 17  
Weight: S- 82.1 kg Y- 80.8 kg  
Height: S- 6’0” Y- 6’1”  
Appearance: Both are tall and well built  
Hair: Both- Black, S- spikey hair with no part, Y- spikey hair with middle part.  
Eyes: Both- honey  
Year: Rooster  
Belts: Green with Black (3rd Kyu)  
Both are very competitive and have competed against each other in many games and sports. Took up karate to prove which one is stronger.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The very long day ends with a bang (well, almost ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))

“You’re waves are concerning, Tohru.” Hana states, “has the idiot done something to upset you again?” Tohru looks up from her bowl of Sòmen to meet her friends stare. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to hold it from Hana.

“No, Kyo is wonderful.” Tohru responds, “but, I’m just worried if he really is ok with being with me. Today, I got upset and…”

“So he did upset you?” Hanajima interrupts, her voice contemplating about cursing him.

“No no! He consoled me! He was very sweet when I cried to him. I guess I’m just embarrassed to show him that side.” Tohru could tell her lower eyelids were still swollen, but she was surprised at just how swept away with emotions she was after hearing about her grandmother.

“Why were you crying, then? Are you alright?” Hana asked.

“I’m better now. It’s just….” Tohru hesitates, “what would you do if someone you thought hated you wanted your forgiveness? And what can you do if you don’t know where to find this person?” The question blurted out, but she was sincere. She wishes to know her mom’s side of the family and she wants to tell her grandmother she forgives her.

“Hm,” Hana contemplated, “I am unsure how to respond. I suppose I would try to be at peace with knowing I forgive someone. The burden of holding any malice to someone you haven’t seen in a while can sometimes be too much to carry with you throughout your life. If you feel you can forgive, then you should also feel like you can move on.” Tohru can see in Hana’s eyes that she was familiar with this form of forgiveness.

“Thanks Hana.” Tohru didn’t want to spend this time discussing what happened today, so she decided to change the subject. “By the way, how have things been working with Shishou-san?”

“Things have been going very smoothly. Though, I’m starting to wonder if Kazuma-san is the one for me.”

“Really? But you were so into him when you saw him at parent teacher conferences.”

“I still think he is a hunk and he is a very patient and sweet man. But after seeing everyone else getting together, I think I might have just felt envious and started thinking I should find someone too.”

“So, you no longer want to be Kyo’s mom?” Tohru joked.

“While it has been fun teasing him with that, I fear I will not become the mother he wishes.” The girls laugh and the mood has lightened back up. Tohru always felt bad about telling others about her insecurities, but she’s learned recently that it’s okay to rely on others for support when somethings on your mind. Speaking of stuff weighing on the mind.

“Hey, Hana-chan…” Tohru pauses, “if Kyo and I were to get married, would you be willing to be a witness to it?” She held her breath as she waited for her friends response. Instead of a reply, she hears a typing of a phone. She looks up to find her friend texting.

“I’m sending Arisa a message about this, why didn’t you tell us sooner that you were getting married?!” Hana exclaimed more excited then her usual calm self.

“No no no! Don’t message Uo-Chan about this! We aren’t getting married ...yet.”

“Oh, then why ask me to be a witness?” Hana asks as she puts her phone down.

“Well, because I’ve been thinking about wanting to get married...but I haven’t even asked Kyo about this.”

“Then talk to him,” Hana grabs Tohru’s hand, “in my opinion, it is important to have an open and communicative relationship. All you need to do is build the courage to say what’s on your mind, and I know you have the courage to do so.”

After dinner, she wonders the area some more and considers her friends' advice. Has she been hesitant because of fear? The more Tohru thought about it, the more she realized how much of a coward she actually is. Hana is right, all she needs to do is build the courage to tell Kyo she wants to marry him. As she’s focusing on her courage, she accidentally bumps into someone along the path to Shishou’s house.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” Tohru bows apologetically, “I wasn’t paying attention and I-” Tohru freezes, for the cold stare the middle aged man gave her was filled with rage she hadn’t seen before. However, the reason Tohru was frozen wasn’t his glaring; she froze because this middle aged man looked very similar to… “Ky-”

Before she could finish, the man walks off with a huff, refusing to acknowledge her apology. She stared after him until he disappeared, still frozen in place. ‘It couldn’t be, could it?’ Tohru eventually continued her trek to Shishou’s; as she walks up the steps to the door, she hears Kyo and Shishou discussing something in the entryway.

“Why the hell won’t he give up?! I thought after the curse broke, he’d finally be done with this!” Kyo says aggressively.

“So did I, Akito-san and I have even discussed with him how things would play out for now on. He didn’t back down then, and it’s apparent he won’t back down now.” Shishou said in an irritated tone.

“Ugh, talking to him makes me sick to my stomach!”

“Maybe you should sit down and rest for a bit then, Tohru-chan will be back any minute now, right?”

The sound of their footprints made way deeper into the house, outside of Tohru’s earshot. Tohru stood there, waiting for a few minutes to ensure they don’t think she overheard. ‘I’ve never heard Shishou-san so serious before. And Kyo...he sounded like he really was gonna throw up. What happened while I was gone?’ With a deep breath, she opens the door and enters Shishou’s house.

“I’m back!” She said as close to normally as she could, “Kyo? Shishou-san?”

“Welcome back, Tohru-chan.” Shishou greeted. “How was dinner with Saki-chan?”

“It was really good! We went to eat Sòmen at this really nice restaurant that Uo-chan used to work at! It’s very tasty!”

“You’ll have to give me the address, then. I would very much like to try it!”

“Of course!”

Tohru looked down the hallway and saw Kyo leaning against the wall. He tried to play it off as him being casual with a smile, but she could tell that whatever he was upset about was still affecting him. Feeling tears in the corners of her eyes, she speeds over to him and gives him a big hug, holding him carefully as to not squeeze too tight.

“You ok, Tohru?” Kyo asks. Tohru looks up to him, seeing the concerned gleam in his eyes. “Still thinking about earlier?”

She almost forgot about that. Her mind really does become one tracked once something catches her attention. Her hands tighten on his shirt and she shakes her head.

“I’m fine, it’s just been a long day.” Kyo runs his fingers through her hair as he pets her head.

“I won’t deny that. How about turning in early?”

“That sounds perfect!”

After saying goodnight to Shishou, the couple headed to their room. The room is the one Kyo stayed in when he originally lived with Shishou, so the smell of Kyo enveloped the room, giving Tohru a calming effect. They had set up two futons, but today had been such a rough day that Tohru grabbed Kyo’s wrist to get his attention.

“Um…” she hesitated, “can we share a futon tonight?”

While at home, their futons were next to each other, they hadn’t shared one before. Kyo’s face turned red at her request, but he shyly agreed. As they get comfortable cuddling with each other, Tohru snuggles under his chin.

“I haven’t shared a futon with someone for a while,” Tohru says, “have you shared your futon before, Kyo?”

“Well, not for a long time,” Kyo replied, “but I think the very last time I shared a futon was once when I had a nightmare as a kid. I couldn’t sleep, so Shishou offered to let me share his bed to get over it. It was the first time I shared a futon with a parental figure since my parents were...well…” Tohru could tell how uncomfortable this topic was getting for him, so she kissed his chin to distract him.

“I understand.”

He looked down at her, meeting her gentle eyes. A pulsing urge came over her as she stared into his ember eyes. Kyo must’ve felt the same, cause before Tohru knew it, their lips were locked fiercely. The passion of their kiss grew immensely as it was getting harder to steal a breath. Kyo rolled onto her, but supported himself with his arms to prevent crushing her. Tohru had never felt this desire before; her mother had told her how much couples can start to lose themselves in moments of passion. However, before Tohru lost complete control, she remembered where they were and pushed Kyo off of her.

“S-sorry,” Tohru gasped, “n-not now…” Kyo came to his senses as well, for he turned very bright and rolled back to the far corner of the futon.

“Right, sorry.” He said as he covered his face with his palm. “If...if you don’t want to share the futon anymore, that’s fine.” Tohru grabbed his sleeve, directing his attention back to her rosy cheeks.

“It’s okay, I still want to snuggle with you!”

As they get readjusted again, Tohru noticed how Kyo seemed to be keeping a small gap between them this time, but she didn’t blame him. That was the first time since they started dating that they almost let their passion completely take over. While Tohru’s mom did tell her about dating stuff, she didn’t mention just how intense the feelings were...or how they left a lingering of wanting more.

Tohru looked to Kyo to find he had already fallen asleep. The whirlpool of emotions he must’ve felt today really tired him out after all. She scoots in closer to him and gives him a light peck on his mouth.

“Goodnight, my love.” Not long after, she too drifted off to sleep.

——————

(When Kyo and Shishou went to the jewelry store)

“I can’t believe the store you took us to was the one Isuzu worked at!” Kyo huffed, “What if she tells Tohru about this?!”

“She wouldn’t do that,” Shishou reassured, “We asked her not to, didn’t we? Besides, Isuzu does care for Tohru and she wouldn’t want to spoil a surprise like this.”

Kyo has worked hard to build the courage to go out and get a ring for Tohru, so bumping into Isuzu and her knowing why he was there wounded his courage and ego. Thank goodness for Shishou to be there to support Kyo and keep his mind on track. As they get to the house, they find a drunk, angry man standing on the doorstep. Knowing who he was, Kyo’s confidence crumbled.

“Y-you?!” Kyo muttered. The man took a swig from the bottle he was holding and glared at Shishou.

“You! Kazuma-san! I don’t know how you got the head to agree with you, but I will never stop fighting to get that monster into a cell!” The drunk yelled. “That creature can NEVER become a real member of society after what he did to my wife!” Kyo’s fists tightened, wanting so much to throw a punch, but he was frozen in place.

“Enough of this.” Shishou spoke up, “the curse is broken, the Sohma’s are changing. When will you learn to change?” Hearing Shishou gave Kyo his courage back, enough to defend himself.

“I did nothing to mom. All I wanted was for her to truly love me and for us to try to be a real family.” Kyo said, “Yet, from what I remember, all you’ve done was yell and blame us for everything!” The drunk chucks the bottle to Kyo, just as Kyo blocks, Shishou catches it.

“You don’t know anything, you bastard! Then again, how can you know? You’re nothing but a murderous monster who is out to get me!” Shishou points the bottle at the drunkard threateningly.

“Stop this foolishness!” Shishou warns, “If you come hear spouting that nonsense again, I will ensure that Akito-san hears about it!”

With a huff, the man walks off of the property. Kyo and Shishou head inside in silence. After a moment, Kyo’s anger explodes and he slams his fist against the wall.

“Why the hell won’t he give up?! I thought after the curse broke, he’d finally be done with this!” Kyo says aggressively.

“So did I, Akito-san and I have even discussed with him how things would play out for now on. He didn’t back down then, and it’s apparent he won’t back down now.” Shishou said in an irritated tone.

“Ugh, talking to him makes me sick to my stomach!”

“Maybe you should sit down and rest for a bit then, Tohru-chan will be back any minute now, right?” As they walked further into the house, Kyo looks to Shishou with concern.

“How am I supposed to propose to Tohru when something as small as that makes me tremble so?” Kyo’s hand shakes and he feels disappointed in himself, thinking he should be strong enough to handle this.

“That’s because this wasn’t ‘something small,’ Kyo.” Shishou says, “And this probably won’t be the last time you will have to deal with this. However, please remember that you are not alone. You have people who care for you and who will always be there for you.” He gives Kyo a supportive smile. Before he can say anything, Tohru walks through the door, directing Shishou’s attention away to welcome her.

Kyo held himself against the wall to try to regain his composure. The last thing he wanted was for Tohru to worry. His efforts failed, however, as Tohru looked at him with subtle worry on her face and she ran to embrace him.

‘She can see right through me, sometimes.’ Kyo thinks to himself. While he didn’t want to worry her, her comforting aura and loving hug was truly what Kyo needed to feel better after this long and stressful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in Another, it is said that Hana marries someone else, so I wanted to add when she gave up on Kazuma.

**Author's Note:**

> Bounced Ideas and got assistance from Shiorins, Yuki "Mr. Grass" Sohma, Tsundereshipper, and GioGioStar.


End file.
